Friday, March 25, 2016

* Brazil: Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff once again claimed she would not resign despite an impeachment process against her and a deepening political crisis stemming from the “Lava Jato” corruption probe.

* U.S.: Why is the spike in HIV and AIDS cases in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas “a warning sign for the U.S. healthcare community as well as Latino neighborhoods across” the nation?

* Latin America: Researchers believe the Zika virus that has spread across the Americas arrived in South America sometime in 2013 and not during sporting events held in Brazil two years ago such as the World Cup.

* Mexico: For all the talk on the U.S. presidential campaign race on building a wail along the U.S.-Mexico border, authorities announced yesterday the discovery of the twelfth drug smuggling tunnel between Mexico and California since 2006.

* Venezuela: Five men including thee officials with PDVSA pled guilty in a U.S. federal court over their involvement in a bribery scheme between U.S. energy companies and the Venezuelan state-run oil firm.

YouTube Source – AFP (Footage from May 2015. The International Court of Justice last September rejected a Chilean appeal to drop analyzing Bolivia's decades-long dispute for ocean access.)

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

* Argentina: Following his historic three-day visit to Cuba, U.S. President Barack Obama arrived in Argentina to meet with his counterpart, Mauricio Macri, though one excluded issue from the official agenda will be the sovereignty battle over the Falkland Islands.

* Panama: The $5.3 billion Panama Canal expansion will be completed in late June to early July after two years of delays, while construction on an interoceanic waterway in Nicaragua will reportedly begin this August despite being originally planned for December 2014.

* Guatemala: President Jimmy Morales admitted that his country is facing a “serious insecurity problem” and accused organized crime groups of trying to “destabilize” the government.

* Puerto Rico: The U.S. Supreme Court began hearing arguments yesterday over whether Puerto Rico should be allowed to restructure its debt in a manner similar to Chapter 9 bankruptcy laws on the mainland.

Monday, March 21, 2016

* Cuba: Cuban authorities reportedly began releasing this morning some of the approximately sixty dissidents arrested on Sunday hours prior to U.S. President Barack Obama’s arrival to the island.

* Peru: Peru’s electoral body, which has already barred two presidential candidates, opened an investigation against poll frontrunner Keiko Fujimori over allegations of distributing cash to supporters.

* Haiti: In the latest chapter of Haiti’s political crisis, legislators rejected Interim President Jocelerme Priver’s choice for prime minister.

* U.S.: “It’s like wearing a condom to protect against head lice,” said comedian John Oliver on the latest edition of “Last Week Tonight” as he assailed the notion of erecting a barrier along the entire U.S.-Mexico border.